CCTV Service Plans
Issue 18 | March 2011
Agency
DDB UK
Creative Team
Chris Lapham & Deborah James
Production Team
Designer: Kevin Clarke, Andrew Walsh; Project Manager: Anna Timchenko; TV Producer: Chris Styring
Other Credits
Copywriter: Chris Lapham; Art Director: Deborah James; Creative Director: Guy Bradbury; Business Director: Lesley Smith; Account Director: Ewen Whyte
Date
April 2010
Background
Service plans are a great way for VW retailers to stay in contact with customers and increase loyalty. But despite this, dealers were just not promoting them.
A presentation was created which would show dealers how easy it is – and how profitable it is – to get customers to keep coming back. The challenge was to get them to want to look at it.
Idea
Research showed that VW dealers really enjoy VW’s advertising themselves. So, the insight was to talk to them in the same entertaining way that VW talks to its core consumers.
To cut through all the usual stuff that comes through from Head Office, the Managing Director of the dealership was sent a pack that looked like an authentic CCTV security disc.
No letter, no nothing. But curiosity drove most to look at the disc, which showed, as if on CCTV, the odd things some dealers will do to get their customers to return.
At the end of the film. The Managing Director was directed to the presentation and an incredible 39% did in fact go on to view the presentation.
This gave them and their sales team everything they needed to convert more sales. And it worked. Following the campaign, conversion of service plans increased from 24% to 49%.
Results
Because there were a number of objectives, set of this campaign, a number of metrics were used to assess success.
Engagement - 39% of busy Managing Directors watched the film, and went on to view the internal presentation.
Customer loyalty - Volkswagen estimate that owners will be 10% more likely to purchase another car in the future (Source: CCB Fast map research 2007.)
Conversion - Following the campaign at the end of March 2010, conversion of sales grew from an average of 24% (Jan-March 2010) to an average 49% (April to July figures)
Sales - The campaign has so far helped generate 10,497 service plans sales. And is forecasted to generate a further 3,455 additional sales over the course of the year.
Our Thoughts
Humour again. Does it work? It would seem so, especially if you have a history of being witty and amusing, as VW does. How interesting that the insight here was to view dealers as normal human beings, who like a bit of a laugh every now and then, rather than as number-crunchers from the Planet Calculus.
I think creativity is simply being polite. It’s taking the time and the trouble (and the budget, sometimes) to engage the target audience as people rather than as multiple business opportunities.